Romans 11:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

NIV: If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

NASB: If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are as well.

CSB: Now if the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.

NLT: And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy — just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

KJV: For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

NKJV: For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Paul's statements in the previous verses assumed that Israel would one day be accepted by God again as the Jewish people turned to faith in Christ. Israel, as a nation, would regain her special relationship with God. Paul now seems to say this destiny is in Israel's very nature. It is Israel's identity to be the people of God despite this temporary state of estrangement because of Israel's rejection of Christ as the Messiah.

Paul offers two illustrations to make this point. First, a bit of dough mixed into a larger lump of dough can determine what the entire mixture will be like. Paul is referencing Israel's practice of offering the first dough made from each year's harvest as a loaf of bread to the Lord (Numbers 15:20–21). That bit of dough offered as the "firstfruits" to the Lord was set apart. It was holy. Its holiness conferred holiness onto everything else made with that lump of dough.

The second illustration is one Paul will build on in the following verses. The nature of branches is determined by the "root" from which they grow. The basic Greek word used here is rhiza, referring to the core part of the plant, from the surface and reaching below the soil. If this root is holy, Paul implies, the branches will be holy as well.

Paul's larger point seems to be that Israel's firstfruits were the patriarchs. God set those first Israelites apart as His people. He made them holy in a sense. In that same sense, Paul says, their holiness will determine the ultimate nature of Israel. That's why she must eventually return to a right relationship with God, which now comes through faith in Christ.

Alternatively, some interpreters suggest that the firstfruits Paul has in mind are not the patriarchs, but the first Jewish people to trust in Christ. Their place in Christ will eventually lead to strengthen Israel's faith in Christ, as well.

Romans 11:11–24 describes why God has hardened Israel in her unbelief in Christ. It is to make room on God's figurative olive tree for the Gentile Christians. The old branches of unbelieving Jews have been broken off for now, and the new branches have been grafted in to the root. In turn, the salvation of so many Gentiles will provoke Israel to jealousy, drawing her back to God through faith in Christ when He removes the hardening of her unbelief. When that happens, after enough Gentiles have believed, the old branches of Jewish believers will be grafted back into the tree.

In Romans 11, Paul concludes his exploration of God's plan for His chosen people Israel. It's true that as a nation, Israel has rejected faith in Christ, but a remnant of Israelites has believed in Jesus. God has hardened the rest in unbelief, but will bring Israel back to faith when enough Gentiles have come to Him through Christ. Then many Israelites will trust in Christ, as well, and God will renew His covenant with His people. Paul concludes this section with a powerful poem or hymn about God's independence and how He is beyond our full comprehension.

Romans 11 concludes Paul's discussion about God's plan for the Israelites begun in Romans 9 and 10. Paul insists that, though Israel as a nation has rejected Christ, a remnant of Jewish Christians exists by God's grace. God has hardened the rest in their unbelief until enough Gentiles have come to Him through Christ. Then God will release Israel to believe in Christ and restore His covenant with her as many individual Jews come to faith in Christ, as well. Paul stands in awe of God's vast and unknowable mind and complete ownership of all things.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.